Chinese Valentine's Day (or "Qi Qiao Jie") falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar (August according to the Gregorian calendar). As is the custom elsewhere in the world, this is a day devoted to romance.

In China, this day is also known as "The Begging Festival" or "The Daughter's Festival." It is an important day for girls. In the evening, girls prepare melons and fruit before worship and prayers for a good marriage.

There are many stories as to the origins of Chinese Valentine's Day, and one of them involves the Emperor of Heaven and his seven daughters.

The love story

The seventh daughter of the Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd were separated by the Emperor; the girl was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd, to the star Altair. They were only allowed to meet once a year on the day of seventh day of seventh lunar month - Chinese Valentine's Day.

The story begins with the handsome but poor orphan who lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After his parents passed away, the boy's brother inherited the house and land. But all he had was an old ox. As a cowherd, the boy had to work the farm fields with his ox everyday. His daily life routine resembled the story of Cinderella.

The seventh daughter of the Emperor, also known as the Weaving Maid, was good at handcrafting, especially weaving clothes. The Emperor particularly appreciated her skills of weaving clouds with rainbows to make the world more beautiful.

The cowherd's ox, which was actually an immortal from heaven, made mistakes in heaven and was reincarnated as an ox to toil on earth. One day, the ox suddenly said to the cowherd: "You are a nice person. If you want to get married, go to the brook and your wish will come true."

The cowherd went to the brook and watched the seven pretty daughters of the Emperor come down from heaven to take a bath. Fascinated by the youngest and the most beautiful one, the cowherd hid her fairy clothes. When the other six fairies went away after the bath, the youngest could not fly back to heaven without her fairy clothes.

The cowherd then appeared and told the Weaving Maid that he would keep her clothes until she agreed to be his wife. After a slight hesitation, mixed with coyness and eagerness, the maid accepted the handsome man's proposal. The couple was then married and had two children two years later.

Meanwhile, up in heaven, the Emperor missed the beautiful skies once woven by his seventh daughter. He ordered his daughter's grandmother to find her and bring her back to him. As the seventh princess was flying to heaven with her grandmother, the cowherd put on his old ox's hide (which he preserved after the animal had died long ago) and put their children into two bamboo baskets laced with his wife's magical fairy clothes to chase after his love.

But the grandmother created a milky way in the sky with her hairpin, which kept the lovers apart. The seventh princess moved to the star Vega (The Swooping Eagle) in the Lyra (Harp) constellation. And the cowherd and their two children stayed on the star Altair (Flying One) in the Aquila (Eagle) constellation.

The stars

Gaze up to where the Milky Way (or "Heavenly River" in Chinese) traverses the night sky and you will see a constellation of five small stars on the east bank. This is Vega, also called the Weaving Maid or "Zhi Nu". Opposite to her, on the distant western bank, is Altair, also known as Cowherd or "Niu Lang ", shining brilliantly throughout the ages -- lonely and waiting.

Since Vega is the fifth brightest star in the sky, it is therefore very easy to spot on a summer night. Vega is 16 times bigger than the sun and its surface temperature tops 10,000 degrees Celsius. Vega is also 25 times brighter than the sun and 25 light years away from Earth.

Altair, as the 11th brightest star in the sky, is also easy to spot on a summer night. Altair is four times bigger than the sun at a surface temperature of about 8,000 degrees Celsius. It is 11 times brighter than the sun and 17 light years away from Earth.

Two stars Alshain and Tarazed, located on each side of Altair, are said to be the cowherd's two children. Since the distance between Vega and Altair is 16 light years, they cannot meet in the sky. In the story, the magpie bridge allowed the Weaving Maid and cowherd to meet.

The festival

On Chinese Valentine's Day, couples go to matchmaker temples to pray for everlasting love and marriage. Even single people will frequent the temple for luck in love.

Chinese Valentine's Day is also called "The Daughter's Festival". Long ago, Chinese girls aspired to becoming skilled craftswomen like the Weaving Maid. This skill was considered essential to their future as wives and mothers. On that night, unmarried girls prayed to the Weaving Maid star for the special gift. When the star Vega was high up in the sky, girls performed a small test by placing a needle on the water's surface: If the needle did not sink, the girl was considered to be ready to find a husband. Once a year, on this day, girls could wish for anything their hearts desired.

In some Chinese provinces, people believe that decorating an ox's horns with flowers on Chinese Valentine's Day will ward off disaster. On the night of Valentine's Day, women wash their hair to give it a fresh and shiny look; children wash their faces the next morning using the overnight water in their backyards for a more naturally beautiful appearance; and girls throw five-colored ropes made during the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival on the roofs so magpies can use them to build the bridge.